Substitute Princess
by Skye
Summary: Yumi is distracted by Sissi's sudden interest in her at the same time as a crisis unfolds. Sissi pries to find the truth. Yumi/Sissi
1. Surprised

_Note: Takes place after season 2, but does not follow canon after that. Jeremy/Aelita is also focused on somewhat, but the main pairing is still Yumi/Sissi. If you don't like f/f pairing or just Yumi/Sissi, do yourself a favor and back out now._

**Substitute Princess**

**Chapter 1: Surprised**

She had finally got to dance with Ulrich, a moment that could have come from a dream, in a nice slow dance to one of her favorite songs, so why couldn't she feel happy in that moment? Sissi was in the arms of Ulrich, but all she could do was stare over at Yumi dancing with Odd. Not that there was anything between them, both her and Ulrich as well as Yumi and Odd. Sissi admitted to herself the reason she wasn't satisfied at all as she squeezed onto Ulrich's hand. There was no denying it now.

When Sissi wanted something, she wanted it now. She wanted it badly. She very often got what she wanted. Others called her spoiled, but they were just jealous, Sissi thought. However, when it came to the _people_ she wanted, Ulrich for example, Sissi was often left frustrated and lonely. Now, even with keeping Ulrich away from Yumi, Sissi was still lonely. She felt empty, but that was because she had stopped pining for Ulrich. This had happened a while ago, but she had denied it, as she had subconsciously moved onto someone who was just as unreachable. Though now she admitted it completely consciously. She now wanted Yumi Ishiyama.

The song ended, and both Ulrich and Sissi broke apart indifferently, and went their separate ways without a word. Sissi stood by herself, a mock-wallflower, after shooing away both Nicolas and Herb. She bumped into Jeremy as she walked around. "Hey! Oh, it's you. Well, aren't you going to be lonely," she said to him.

"What?" Jeremy said. The music was too loud for him.

Sissi spoke louder now. "Aren't you going to be lonely, now that Mrs. Einstein is going back to Canada."

"Canada... Yeah." Jeremy said.

"Maybe she'll find a hot Canadian guy during the holiday, who knows. Even Aelita has to figure out there's better picks than you out there sometime."

"Sorry Sissi, I can't hear you!" Jeremy said loudly, walking away as fast as he could. Aelita would of course be spending the holiday between Lyoko and the Ishiyama's, as she didn't really have a home to go back to in Canada. Although unaffected by Sissi's teasing, Jeremy was still worried about Aelita during the holiday. With Xana out there, now free of supercomputer, who knew what might happen. And he had to go home himself, there was no way his parents would accept him spending yet another holiday at Kadic so he could look after things. Jeremy sighed.

"What's wrong, Jeremy?" a pleasant voice asked.

"Aelita!" Jeremy exclaimed. "Weren't you doing the music tonight?" he asked.

"I took a break. Put on a braver face. You don't have to be worried about your final exams, I know you'll do great," Aelita said, smiling.

"I was just thinking about the holiday, and you here by yourself-"

"I'll be with Yumi. It'll be fine. Xana hasn't shown up at all. I can monitor things just as well as you, and I'll be sure to keep in contact with you. Every day. So you shouldn't get too lonely," Aelita said, giggling as he blushed. "And I have something for you."

"Um- oh?" Jeremy stammered.

"Here," Aelita handed Jeremy a CD. "I made this for your way home, so you can listen to it and think of me," she said. Jeremy just stared at it. "I was going to give it to you closer to when you leave, but I have it now and didn't want to forget."

"Thank you, Aelita. But I'm still worr-"

"I have to get back now!" Aelita gave Jeremy a kiss on his cheek before returning to be the DJ.

Jeremy turned even redder, but still sighed again when Aelita was out of sight. Could she be right? Could they possibly have a summer break with nothing going wrong?

As Jeremy pondered their situation while looking fondly at Aelita, Sissi was plotting what to do to get what she wanted. Just because it was implausible didn't mean it was impossible. She notice that Ulrich chose to joke with Odd instead of keep Yumi company after their dance was over. Silly boy. Yumi might be attracted to him, but a mere attraction couldn't keep her attached to him forever, could it? Yumi was over with students from her year. Sissi went over to her. "Yumi," Sissi drawled loudly.

"Huh? Sissi? What is it?" Yumi asked.

"Dance with me," Sissi said, though it was more of an order.

Surprised, Yumi complied. As the noise did not allow for conversation, she allowed herself to be pulled around wordlessly, dancing without a break to every song. Even more surprising than the initial request, found herself having a fun time with Sissi. When they announced the last song of the night, a slow dance, Sissi latched onto Yumi with a hug. "I'm not letting you go," she teased.

"You can't be serious," Yumi said.

"I am," Sissi said.

"People are going to stare. Two girls, you know-"

"Let them stare all they can," Sissi challenged.

Tentatively, Yumi let Sissi lead her in a slow dance. She saw some people did stare, but then quickly turned to their own business. She allowed herself to relax, and finish the night happily. "I-I have to get home now," she said.

"I'll take you," Sissi offered.

"Sure," Yumi said, curious to talk to Sissi a little more.

The two ran out of the room, passing Ulrich and Odd on the way. "Yumi, wasn't I going to walk you home?" Ulrich inquired.

"Um... Next time. Sorry, Ulrich," Yumi quickly apologized before continuing out the door.

"I wonder what's been up with those two for most of the night," Odd commented.

"Sissi's probably just trying to find a new way to get closer to me," Ulrich suggested.

"Aw, admit it! You're sooo jealous that they're not both drooling over you," Odd teased.

"Cut it out." Ulrich shoved Odd away.

"Aren't you?" he still continued.

"Yumi doesn't drool," Ulrich said.

Outside, Yumi breathed in the cool air. She didn't always much like crowded situations, but today hadn't been bad. She looked over at Sissi, and decided to be the one to start the conversation. "So, what's up with you tonight?"

"What do you mean?" Sissi asked innocently.

"You know, why you asked me to dance and all," Yumi said, looking away.

"Well, you are a pretty girl, and everyone really should have been lining up to spend their time with you. But they weren't, so their loss," Sissi said.

"That's really... Um, uncharacteristically flattering of you," Yumi said.

"It's very characteristic of me," Sissi said defensively. "I just don't flatter people unless people deserve it. Like you."

Yumi looked away, trying not to show her blush. "What's with this change of attitude?" she asked.

"Well, it has a little to do with a little change of heart, if you know what I'm getting at," Sissi said.

"Change of heart..." Yumi repeated absent-mindedly. "Wait! Don't tell me you've been flirting with me this whole time?!"

"I shouldn't _have_ to tell you," Sissi said. Finally, Yumi had caught on.

"Wow... I don't really know what to say, really, I'm not-"

Sissi quickly interrupted Yumi, placing a finger to her lips. "Think before you talk, so you don't regret what you say," she spoke quickly. Yumi was silent. Sissi tossed her hair. "Well, good night, Ms. Ishiyama. And don't think I'm finished with you yet." Sissi winked, and then continued on her way before Yumi could respond.

Later that night, Yumi began thinking about the situation. She'd never really considering having a girlfriend before, but her time with Sissi had been so nice. Then again, it was _Sissi_ here, and it could be some kind of trick of her's. Thinking about it more, Yumi didn't really think so. Sissi was usually much more obvious with her vindictiveness. Before Yumi could finally rest, her decision was to wait and see what the other girl would do next... And be at least a little open to new possibilities.


	2. The Disappearance

**Substitute Princess**

**Chapter 2: The Disappearance**

"I've decided to stay here for the summer," Jeremy announced to the his friends when they sat down for lunchtime.

"How? Everyone expects you to go home," Yumi said.

"I'm not sure yet, I'll camp out, I'll tell my parents something, but I just can't leave you all alone here," Jeremy said.

"Don't worry about it. We're going home too," Ulrich said.

"He says 'you' meaning me," Aelita clarified.

"Way to go lover-boy. A summer alone with Aelita, now what could happen?" Odd teased. Jeremy and the others ignored him.

"I can't let you stay here, Jeremy." Aelita said.

"Aelita, I-"

"When's the last time you've been home?" she asked.

"It's been quite a while, but-"

"You can still see your parents, Jeremy! I won't accept you staying here to be a baby-sitter instead. Go home," Aelita insisted.

"Yumi," Sissi called, approaching the table interrupting the argument.

"Oh... Hi Sissi," Yumi said tentatively.

"Why don't you come sit with me?" Sissi offered. "Don't worry about Herb and Nicolas, they know to leave me alone when- Well, you know."

"Um... I'll be there in a minute," Yumi agreed, laughing nervously.

"What's been up with her?" Ulrich inquired irritably.

"Huh?" Yumi snapped out of her daydream and looked at Ulrich.

"She's been really friendly," Ulrich said.

"Uh huh, yeah. Listen, I'll talk to you guys later," Yumi said. She picked up her lunch tray and went sitting by Sissi. The others were silent. They spied glances over at the two of them smiling and whispering to each other.

"There's something disturbing out that. I mean, Yumi having a friend to be all girly-girl with," Odd commented.

"Why? Yumi's friends with me," Aelita said.

"It's completely different with you, Princess," Odd said, using Aelita's nickname. "For one thing, you're actually cool."

"Why thank you." Aelita smiled. She looked over at Jeremy and then quickly looked away, her expression changing to an angry one again.

"Come on, you two. It doesn't matter if Jeremy leaves or stays. Who cares! It's nothing to fight about," Odd said.

"I care, but apparently I'm the only one," Aelita said. Odd hit his head, realizing he'd definitely said the wrong thing.

"I care about _you_, Aelita, that's why I'm staying," Jeremy defended.

"I'm certainly not in peril at the moment. And it's not up to you to protect me all the time. Excuse me, I'm going to finish lunch with Yumi and Sissi," Aelita look her leave of the table.

* * *

When Sissi had dragged Yumi over to another area, she begged, "Can you please try to be a little more discreet?"

"What for? I'm not keeping a secret about anything," Sissi said.

"I'd just rather not be the gossip of school," Yumi said.

"Does that mean there's something to gossip about?" Sissi asked.

"Um... Maybe just a _little_ something," Yumi said. They both started to giggle, Sissi's being happy and Yumi's being nervous.

"We could see where something goes... Why don't we meet after school today?"

"I don't know..." Yumi paused.

"You aren't doing anything, right?"

"I don't think so."

"It's Friday, you can put everything off until later," Sissi said.

"All right," Yumi agreed, smiling over at Sissi. Sissi felt gleeful.

Aelita came and sat down with the two of them. "I hope you don't mind if I join you. The boys really aren't very good company today," Aelita explained.

Sissi frowned. She was hoping to have lunch alone with Yumi, she knew Yumi would want to be secretive around her friends. Why was Aelita pushing in? "Mr. and Mrs. Einstein, fighting?" she said.

"Well... Yes. We did disagree on something," Aelita confirmed. The rest of the lunch was silent, each girl uncomfortable to talk in front of the others.

* * *

After school that day, Jeremy sighed as he sat in front of the supercomputer. Aelita was avoiding him, not speaking to him at all. He couldn't fix however he had hurt Aelita's feelings, so he concentrated on his work tracking Xana. He'd be happy not to talk to her at all. He couldn't believe she couldn't understand, if not appreciate, why he was staying. They all had to make sacrifices, and he was making one himself. It wasn't as if he didn't care about his family.

Jeremy's eyebrow raised as an alert interrupted his work. Looks like he'd have to talk to Aelita after all. He called her first. "Yes, Jeremy?" Aelita asked calmly, although Jeremy could still hear the tension in her voice.

"Xana's activated a tower. I'm not sure what he's up to, but-"

"I'll meet you at the factory," Aelita said quickly, then hung up.

Jeremy called Ulrich and Odd next, they quickly also said they'd be there. However, when he called Yumi there was no answer. "Hm.." he frowned, but set the computer to keep trying to reach her.

* * *

Yumi was nervous as she knocked on the door of Sissi's dorm room. Sissi was excited as she greeted her. "Yumi! Early, I see."

"Let's fix you up to go out now," Sissi said, pulling Yumi inside.

"Fix me?" Yumi asked.

"Not that you aren't beautiful, but everything can be improved," Sissi said, and sat Yumi in front of the mirror. "And I have such nice raw material to work with," she smiled to herself. "Oh, may I?" she asked with excitement.

"Why not?" Yumi sighed. She was already there, might as well play along.

HR

Back in the factory, Jeremy found Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita in front of him. "It's a good thing I noticed this now," Jeremy said. He looked over at Aelita, but she avoided eye contact.

"What's going on?" Ulrich asked.

"I'm not sure what Xana's up to, but he's activated a tower," Jeremy said.

"Simple enough, let's go deactivate it," Odd said.

"I'll get the scanners ready for you," Jeremy said, turning back to the supercomputer.

The other two boys ran back to the elevator, but Aelita hesitated. She didn't enjoy fighting with Jeremy at all. She didn't want to be angry with him, maybe she should make it up now. "Jeremy?"

"Yes?" Jeremy said, not looking away from the supercomputer.

"Come on, Aelita!" Odd called from the elevator.

"Nothing," Aelita said, and then went with the other two. There was too much to say, and too little time. She'd have plenty of time afterwards, anyway.

Jeremy ran the programs to scan the three into Lyoko. They dropped down into the ice sector, and Jeremy virtualized their vehicles. Following Jeremy's directions, they ran toward the tower, no monsters blocking their path. "This is just too easy," Odd commented.

"Don't let your guard down," Ulrich warned.

"Nothing ahead, looks like you guys have a clear path to the target tower," Jeremy's voice announced to the group.

"Alright!" Odd flew around recklessly.

"Ah!" Aelita, riding on the same vehicle, held onto him tightly.

"Sorry, Princess," he said to Aelita. "It's weird though. It's almost like Xana wants us to stop him from whatever it is."

"I guess we're just a few steps ahead this time," Jeremy smiled, leaning back in his chair in front of the computer.

"I wouldn't count on it," Ulrich said. "There's always some kind of trap for us. Uh-" In Lyoko, Ulrich slowed to a stop on his vehicle as he stared ahead at the abnormal sight. Odd and Aelita caught up with him, but then also stopped, staring wordlessly. "Um, Jeremy? What is that?" Ulrich asked.

"Tower, dead ahead." Jeremy said, looking at his scans.

"Not like any tower I've seen," Odd commented.

"What are you talking about?" Jeremy asked.

"It's not a tower, Jeremy," Ulrich said.

"It's like a black hole. I've never seen anything like it here before, now or before," Aelita said.

"What do you mean?" Jeremy inquired. "The scanners just show a tower. Why would Xana-"

Jeremy was interrupted as he heard his friends shouting, and they all disappeared from the scanners. The activated tower also disappeared, showing no tower at all. "Um, guys?" Jeremy asked. He only heard silence in his headphones. Scanning all of Lyoko, Jeremy found nothing, no sign of Xana or his friends. According to the computer, they were no longer virtualized.

Jeremy threw off his headset and ran into the scanner room. "Aelita! Ulrich, Odd?" he called. No answer. He forced open all of the scanners. Still no trace of them, and he had no idea what had happened.

* * *

The night for Yumi was calm, and still pleasant. Sissi first made her up, curling her hair, then straightening it when she decided it didn't suit Yumi. Then she tried some make up and other things, until, at least in Sissi's opinion, Yumi was gorgeous. Yumi enjoyed this much more than she thought she would have. Afterwards, they both strolled the grounds together.

Yumi had grown to trust Sissi's intentions, strange as they were. Through their entire... Well, date might be a word for it... Sissi paid her more compliments, and told her silly stories about Ulrich and others in the same class. Yumi didn't return the compliments but did smile at the stories. Sissi really liked to talk a lot, as Yumi had noticed before. But now, she didn't mind as much. It was nice for her to have a friend with a tie that wasn't protecting the world, she thought.

Eventually, before both of their curfews, Sissi walked her home. "Maybe I can see you again... This weekend?" Sissi looked hopeful.

"I don't know, I have other things to do this weekend," Yumi said, although she really hadn't made any plans. She just was never sure what might come up...

"Well, then here's something to remember me by until Monday," Sissi said. She gave Yumi a playful kiss on the cheek. Yumi was surprised, and her expression clearly showed it. Sissi smiled and giggled a bit as she saw it. Yumi tried not to blush, then quickly went inside the house, forgetting even to say good-bye. Sissi didn't mind though... She was glad to see she could get this kind of a reaction.

Inside, Yumi began to think about that night. She began to wonder why she kept going along this. Well, it was a new experience. And, she had enjoyed herself. Why shouldn't she try something new? Or even being with someone new, if Ulrich was never going to come around. Now alone, Yumi did blush. It wasn't as if she was... Like that.

There was something weird about Sissi, Yumi couldn't deny that, given her recent actions. Yumi didn't know if she was that way herself, but being pursued and doted on was something she liked. This was much different than her experiences with Ulrich. Ulrich was hard to read, sometimes she wasn't sure if he liked her at all, and Sissi had been very open with her feelings and intentions.

Smiling, Yumi sat down at her desk. She heard her phone ringing. Oops, Yumi thought, she'd been so nervous that she'd forgotten to bring it with her. She answered it. "Hello?" There was a silent pause. Yumi looked at the caller ID. "Jeremy? What's up?"

"Yu- Yumi?" Yumi heard the distraught voice of Jeremy on the other end.

"Yeah. Is something wrong?" Yumi asked.

"Where- They- Yumi, something terrible's happened!"


	3. Our Secret

**Substitute Princess**

**Chapter 3: Our Secret**

Yumi hung up with Jeremy, feeling numb. While she was having fun, Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita had been fighting, protecting her and the rest of the world. And now they were gone, possibly forever. She felt like calling Jeremy back to scream at him, how could he let something like this happen?!

But there was no point in doing that, she knew. It would only delay his work in possibly bringing them back. Still, Yumi wished she could do something. And no, she shook her head, it wasn't really Jeremy's fault. It was her's for not being there to help everyone. If she had just brought her cellphone, ditched Sissi, and actually been there to help, she could have done something to stop this.

Right now all she could do was wait. For the weekend, Yumi stayed home. She called Jeremy once on Saturday, but what he told her was mostly unintelligible, so Yumi quickly hung up with him, assuming he'd still gotten nowhere. On Sunday, her phone rang, and Yumi jumped to answer it. She was annoyed to see it was Sissi, and didn't answer. She noticed Sissi left a silly gushing message on her voicemail, but deleted it before even listening to it all the way. Overall, Yumi tried to study, slept some, and mostly did nothing.

Monday came soon enough, and Yumi dragged herself to school. Sissi greeted her happily. "Yumi, I missed you all weekend. I couldn't stop thinking-"

"Sissi," Yumi sighed, exasperated. "I can't really see you like that anymore. It's not going to work."

"And why wouldn't it?" Sissi asked.

"For one thing, we're both girls."

"I don't care, why should anyone else?" Sissi said with a mischievous smile.

"I just-"

"So, when do you want go out again?" Sissi asked.

"I can't be around you, Sissi."

"Why not? I know your friends don't like me much, but I don't really care what my friends think, so why should you?"

"I just..." Yumi paused. She remembered how pleasant it had been around Sissi, and then the shock that followed. "I forget what's important when I'm with you."

Sissi had nothing to say to that, but the smile disappeared from her face. She only glared at Yumi. "So, I'm not important."

"I mean-"

"People may think I'm just a bubble-headed princess, Yumi dear, but it's just not true. But if that's what you think, and you want to only spend your time with your wonderful _important_ friends, acting like national security is depending on you or something, there's nothing I can do." Sissi then walked away before Yumi could respond.

Yumi felt guilty, she'd obviously hurt Sissi's feelings, after Sissi had gone out of her way to be so kind. Still, Yumi pushed that thought aside, telling herself that there were actually more important things to worry about. Like calling Jeremy to see what was up.

At that moment, Yumi noticed Jeremy, stumbling towards class. Covering for Ulrich and the others, no doubt. Yumi headed towards her own classroom, deciding to talk to him somehow during break.

Jeremy hadn't been thinking about what he was going to do during class. Rather, he had been working non-stop on the supercomputer all weekend to figure out what had happened and how to fix it. Well, almost non-stop, he had fallen asleep a bit here and there, and then a few hours near the end. When he had woken up this morning from the alarm that went off automatically for school, he headed off himself automatically to class. It wasn't the first time he had woken up this way after staying up most of the night, not at all.

The whole incident seemed a bit like a bad dream now, and it wasn't until Jeremy was Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita's empty seats that he remembered the reality. Three shadows appeared in front of him. He pushed up his glasses and looked closer, realizing they were Sissi, Herb, and Nicolas.

Sissi was feeling slightly hurt, and therefore particularly vicious. She planned to take out her bad mood on all of Yumi's friends today in class, since Yumi wouldn't be around at that time to be punished herself. "Where's your friends?" Sissi began.

"Huh?" Jeremy mumbled.

"Oh, you don't know?" Sissi exaggerated shock and concern. "I think I heard Odd talking about how he was going to hook his cousin up with Ulrich, to keep her away from a certain _other_ blond loser."

Jeremy blinked, staring at Sissi, confused. Sissi talking about Ulrich with someone besides her? For a moment he thought he might really be in a dream. He only stared at Sissi, both fascinated and bewildered, as she continued to talk about what Aelita and Ulrich must be up to at that very moment. Herb and Nicolas snickered as she did so.

When the teacher came in, Sissi stopped and scurried to her seat along with everyone else. The teacher began roll call. Afterwards, she looked at the empty seats, concerned. "Jeremy, where are your friends?"

Had Jeremy been fully awake, or simply thought about the situation beforehand, he could have thought of something to cover for them. But Jeremy had been awake for most of the weekend, and Sissi had just convinced him that he might be dreaming after all. So Jeremy said what was probably not the best idea. "I dunno."

This began a furious inquiry. "What do you mean you don't know?" some asked, pointing out that they were always around each other. Others brought up that they hadn't seen the three nor Jeremy all weekend.

"Calm down everyone, I'm going to go speak with Mr. Delmas."

Sissi said nothing, but studied Jeremy closely. Something was up, she knew it. She just had no idea of what exactly it was, although she knew that Jeremy and Yumi both did. That group had some kind of secret, and she constantly itched to know what it was. And now, for once, she wasn't the only one. The entire class buzzed. Some said the three were probably just skipping or playing a joke, but others had darker conclusions. Sissi smirked. Perhaps now they'd be forced to reveal whatever the secret was, not just to her, but to everyone.

Sissi's father, along with Jim, soon came in and removed Jeremy from the classroom. The lessons of the day continued as usual, no sign of Jeremy or the other three. Sissi was extremely pleased to hear all the rumors going around, and could practically sing when Nicolas asked her what she thought of the situation at lunch. "Who knows what it could be? But after this, don't you all want an explanation?"

The others around her agreed, and started saying their own theories. Sissi couldn't possibly smile any more, even when she saw Yumi approaching her. "Sissi," Yumi began.

"Oh, hello Ms. Ishiyama. What do you think Jeremy's done with those three?" Sissi asked jovially.

"Sissi, I need to talk to you," Yumi said.

"With _me_? But don't you have something much more important to do? More important people to talk to? Oh, that's right, no one knows where they are."

"This is important," Yumi insisted.

"Oh no, I wouldn't dream of disturbing you," Sissi said. She made a point to turn her back to Yumi and talk to some of the girls at her table.

Yumi had little patience. It was important, but of course Sissi had no way of knowing that. She was in the mood to give her the cold shoulder at the moment. How could she get her to listen? Yumi blushed as she thought of an idea that would definitely the other girl's attention. She had to give it a try. Since Sissi wasn't listening to her words, why not try an action? Yumi pushed Herb aside to sit next to Sissi. She then tapped Sissi on the shoulder, cupped her chin in hand, and kissed her. Once finished, she tried not to look at the others, who were all staring silently, their eyes wide.

Sissi however, only smiled. "Well, it seems that Yumi really might have something important to talk to me about after all. Excuse me," she said to the others as Yumi pulled her away. Before Yumi could say anything, Sissi began talking. "Well, I suppose I can forgive you. We all make mistakes, but as long as you're willing to-"

"I need you to say that Jeremy was with us on Friday," Yumi interrupted.

"Hmm... No, I can't do that. I don't share, especially not with Jeremy," Sissi said disdainfully.

"You have to, Sissi. No one knows where Jeremy was, they think he knows more than he's saying, and everyone will think I'm just covering for him, since they know I was with you. So just say we met up with him, and talked to him."

"No one knows where Jeremy was? Not even him?" Sissi inquired.

"He can't exactly say where he really was..." Yumi said.

"So, as long as you're asking me to lie, to my father no less, why not tell me the truth? What is it you all are always hiding? Why are you always sneaking around?" Sissi looked at Yumi, her expression serious now, expecting an answer.

Yumi paused. She had promised to keep the secret about Lyoko, but the situation called for something to be done. "I'll tell you," she said. "But first, we have to get Jeremy out of the office. Then I promise, I'll tell you."

Sissi smiled. "Well then, I guess I'll help you," she said.

Inside the office, Jeremy was crying, in front of Mr. Delmas, stony faced, as well as a few policemen. Sissi resisted the urge to laugh and show the glee she felt at seeing the situation, and instead put on a concerned face. "Oh, Jeremy darling!" she exclaimed, running over and embracing him. "Daddy, what's going on? Where are Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita? Jeremy, why are you crying?"

"Elisabeth, they've been missing since Friday it seems. Jeremy here was also not seen all weekend. Did you see him-"

"Oh, I saw poor Jeremy when I was with Yumi on Friday. He was so upset, because his girlfriend wants to break up with him. Aelita, I mean. They've been fighting. Why, when it turned out Aelita was missing, you must have thought she had just been avoiding you, right? Poor Jeremy." Sissi pet him. "You must feel so guilty, not being around to protect her. Don't be so hard on yourself, it's just because she didn't want you around. Don't worry, deary, nothing bad happened to them. Right, Daddy?"

"Well Elisabeth, this is a serious matter."

"Are you sure there's nothing else you know?" a policeman questioned. Jeremy shook his head. "And you?" The spotlight turned to Sissi.

"Oh no, the last time I saw those three was at lunch on Friday. Aelita was saying what a dunce Jeremy here was. I do hope they're all right," she said, trying her best to look as worried as possible. "Jeremy sweetie, were you drowning yourself in those silly video games again?" Silly asked. "Jeremy here has a strange addiction," she said in a whispered voice to the rest of the room, although Jeremy could obviously still hear her. "Sometimes he doesn't even sleep at all. Or bathe." She waved a hand in front of her face. "All the stress of being top in the class and now dumped must have finally gotten to him. It's not a good day to find out such terrible news, is it Jeremy?"

The adults discussed things. "Sissi, could you help Jeremy back to his room? He's been through a lot today," Mr. Delmas requested.

"Of course, Daddy," Sissi agreed. She helped Jeremy up, and led him through the hall arm in arm, cooing and doting over him as a show for all who watched. When they reached the boy's dorm floor, no one else was around. "All right, now you're going to tell me what's really going on, don't spare a thing," Sissi hissed in Jeremy's ear.

"Go away!" Jeremy shouted. He broke free of Sissi's hold, then shut himself in his dorm room with a slam of the door.

"Hmph," Sissi said. She'd gone out of her way, helping him with a wonderful show of her best acting, and this was the thanks she got? However, Sissi was mostly unaffected. Jeremy wasn't the one she cared about, anyway. It was Yumi who had made the promise, and she'd make sure the beautiful girl would follow through with it.

* * *

After school, Yumi ran quickly to the factory. She found Jeremy in front of the supercomputer, now much more neat and composed then he had been before. "Thanks for helping me out there," Jeremy said to Yumi.

"It wasn't really me," Yumi said.

"I don't know what you said to Sissi, but she was really into it."

"Never mind that. Have you found anything?"

"Yes, I found them. I know where they are. They're trapped in a hidden part of Lyoko, along with Franz Hopper. I know how to get them out."

Yumi sighed with relief. "Good, let's go then," she said.

"There are a few a problems though. First of all, it won't be easy."

"I'll do whatever it takes."

"And second, we need someone with the keys to Lyoko. Xana's activated a few towers. You know it's only a matter of time before-"

"We don't have the keys to Lyoko. Aelita does. So let's get her and everyone else first."

"I'm aware of this Yumi, but we need the keys to get to them, too."

"Oh, just wonderful Jeremy, you don't know the solution at all!" Yumi shouted.

"I do! I do have the solution!" Jeremy insisted. Yumi calmed down. "But there's a problem."

Yumi sighed. "Go ahead," she said.

"I can problem a new user to hold the keys, the same way Aelita did. But it would need to be a new user. Meaning, not you, or me. That's the problem."

Yumi paused, staring at the ceiling. "Let's ask Sissi."

"Sissi?! I don't think so, Yumi."

"She helped us today, didn't she?" Yumi pointed out, realizing how strange she must look to be defending her.

"She's selfish. Cowardly. Obnoxious."

"So you don't like her as a person, that doesn't mean she can't help us. I don't know anyone else to ask, do you?" Yumi asked.

"She's given away our secret before!" Jeremy put forward one last argument.

"It's different now, she's also helped us since then," Yumi pointed out. "I'll talk to her."

"Fine," Jeremy grudgingly agreed. "Go ask her."

* * *

Sissi was pleased to see Yumi, but not as please to be led down a sewer and then into a dusty factory. "What does this place have to do with anything?" she asked.

"I'll explain when we get there," Yumi promised.

"We aren't there yet?" Sissi whined. Yumi opened the elevator. "Ooo," she exclaimed, impressed.

They met Jeremy by the supercomputer. Sissi was silent, looking at everything around her as she waited for the explanation. She and Jeremy glared at each other before Yumi reminded, "Jeremy, we need all the time we can get."

"Right," Jeremy said.

"So, tell her what's going on. I figured you could explain it best," Yumi said.

"Uh huh. Well Sissi, this is supercomputer. Myself and Yumi, as well as Aelita, Ulrich, and Odd, can use this computer to go into a virtual world and stop the plots of Xana, an evil virus who may have a sentient mind."

"Wow, no wonder you never told me about this before. I never would have believed it, it's so crazy," Sissi said.

"There were many other reasons," Jeremy muttered.

"It sounds dangerous though. Why did _you_ have to do it?"

"That's a long story," Jeremy explained. "But right now, the three you know as missing are-"

"They're dead, aren't they?" Sissi asked, causing both Jeremy and Yumi to twitch.

"No, no one dies in Lyoko. When someone in Lyoko loses all their life points, meaning, they're damaged badly enough, they'll just devirtualize, safe again on Earth."

"Mostly," Yumi added.

"Yes." Jeremy paused, trying to think of exactly how to explain the situation to Sissi.


	4. Scanner Sissi

**Substitute Princess  
Chapter 4: Scanner... Sissi**

"No," Sissi said.

"No?!" Jeremy repeated.

"I am worried about Ulrich and the others, and I want them to return safely. But they've gotten into trouble by following your lead and going into this dangerous place, and now you want me and my darling Yumi to chase after them to doom? Well, NO is all I can say to that! Absolutely not!"

"Sissi, please listen," Yumi begged.

"And you agree with him, Yumi? I regret helping him now, even if it was for you. It's obvious he's a lunatic. We should tell someone else, someone who can get him mental help and really get everyone back."

"I knew this was a bad idea," Jeremy said, turning around to work on the computer.

"No one else is going to help. It's true, this supercomputer is dangerous. So dangerous that they'll shut down the computer, and leave everyone trapped in there forever. So we can't tell anyone else. If we ever want to see them again, we're going to have to go in and save them ourselves," Yumi explained.

"And I'm the only one who can help?" Sissi asked.

"Hardly," Jeremy said.

"We don't know anyone else to ask. You're already involved, so won't you help us? In Lyoko, you don't have to worry about getting hurt. I'll protect you."

"I have no doubt of that, Yumi. But could you do something else for me too?" Sissi asked lovingly.

"Here begins the blackmail. I have no idea what made you think this was a good idea," Jeremy commented.

"Ignore Nerd-boy. You know what I'm talking about. It's nothing much to ask for, considering that you like it too."

Yumi blushed. "Sissi, this is a serious situation, you know."

"And I don't like being serious all the time, so can't you make it not so serious and just do that one thing? The thing you did at lunch today? You know."

Yumi had no idea why she felt so embarrassed. She'd kissed Sissi in plain daylight, in front of a multitude of people, but now she was bashful to do it again, in the dim light of this basement, in front of only Jeremy, who quite obviously was paying so much attention to the computer that he wouldn't even notice what they were up to.

"It's not 'blackmail,' just a simple request," Sissi egged.

"Um, fine," Yumi hesitantly agreed. She slowly moved closer to Sissi, who was smiling, her eyes closed, and kissed her again, this time quickly on the cheek. It wasn't so bad. In fact, it gave her a pleasant feeling. Of course, now was not the time for this at all, she reminded herself. "There. Now will you help us?"

"Of course," Sissi sighed happily. "How could I refuse a request from you? Even if Jeremy's completely insane."

"What? She agreed?" Jeremy said, only having partly listened to the previous conversation.

"Yes, have you gotten ready to virtualize us yet?" Yumi asked.

"No, I was just getting ready to do a return to the past."

"Um, no, I really don't want to do today all over again," Yumi said.

"All over again? What does that mean?" Sissi asked.

"I'll tell you later. There's really a lot to this," Yumi said.

"Just give me a few minutes," Jeremy said, getting ready to virtualize Sissi.

"Tell me more, then," Sissi said to Yumi.

"Xana activates towers to launch attacks on our world. Aelita deactivates them. This time, you're going to deactivate them. That's probably what Jeremy wants us to do first. Right?" Yumi turned to Jeremy.

"Yes, Xana's activated a tower in the ice region. You'll go there right now. Later, soon, you'll go to Sector Five."

Sissi frowned. She could tell by the way Jeremy had explained everything to her that he didn't think she would understand. And he was right, really, she just didn't get it. But she was much too proud to admit ignorance, and thought it best to play along, hoping that Yumi really could protect her. She still had her doubts about the whole idea. She smiled, thinking that love could really make her do some strange things.

"Ready. Head down to the scanner room," Jeremy said. The girls complied. Jeremy scanned them into Lyoko, mentally cursing himself as he said "Scanner, Sissi." The two quickly virtualized to the ice sector.

Yumi looked around, and quickly found Sissi, although she hardly recognized her. Sissi looked almost the same as Aelita had, only instead of Aelita's face, she could see Sissi. "Wow..." Yumi said.

"What's going on? What am I wearing?" Sissi asked, disgusted.

"When scanning Sissi, I virtualized her to be Aelita. So, she should resemble her quite a bit."

"How creepy! Yumi, you're going to protect me from him too, right? He's trying to replace his girlfriend with me!"

"Can't you get off that topic?" Jeremy asked, annoyed.

"Don't worry about it, Sissi. You look a little like Aelita," she stretched the truth, they were actually nearly identical. Although Aelita pulled off the unrealistic hair colors much better. But, elfish or not, Sissi was Sissi. "Anyone, um, well, I can still tell it's you. You're still your pretty self."

"So you do think I'm pretty?" Sissi asked hopefully. Although she'd been doting on Yumi quite a bit lately, Yumi had yet to return any compliments, until now.

"Um-" Yumi began.

"Sissi, you're meant to serve as a substitute for Aelita. For her functions in Lyoko, _not_ in her personal life. So get to deactivating the tower. I'll lead you there. Oh, Yumi, here's your vehicle."

Yumi's vehicle soon appeared. Yumi climbed on it. "Hop on," she offered to Sissi.

"I don't know. This isn't quite how I pictured riding off into the sunset with you."

"The sun doesn't set in Lyoko, it's an artificial virtual world," Jeremy pointed out.

Sissi frowned, and hopped on the back with Yumi, thinking Jeremy was just perfect at spoiling the mood. "Is that geek going to listen to everything we say?" she complained.

"Yes Sissi, and I heard that," Jeremy said.

Sissi frowned. His interruptions would make this time with Yumi not nearly as fun. But they did have a job to do, of course. And once it was done, once they were back home safe. Now that Sissi was in on this secret, Yumi had no reason to push her away, she thought. Who knew what would happen between her and Yumi then?

Yumi and Sissi both followed Jeremy's directions to get to the red tower. Sissi hung onto Yumi, enjoying the sensation of flight and being with her sweetheart. She looked up, and saw something flying through the sky. "Are there beautiful birds here, Yumi?" she asked.

"No," Yumi said quickly, stopping the vehicle as she saw what Sissi had been admiring.

"It must be a nice place to vacation, so isolated and far away from anything," Sissi commented.

"Run for the red tower," Yumi ordered, getting ready to fight.

"Why?"

"Hurry up! That's no bird you saw."

Sissi was disgusted as she saw that the flying object was actually a giant bee, and there were not only one, but three of them. She was even more horrified when the lasers shot at her, and screamed. "You didn't tell me this was going to happen!"

"Well, why did you expect? I did say we all had to fight," Jeremy said.

"I didn't know what to expect! And I don't see you here fighting, genius!" Sissi shouted, now almost hysterical.

Yumi threw her fan at the bee, but missed. "Run!" she said. Sissi finally did run, but the monsters flew after her. Yumi ran near, and threw her fan again, destroying one of them. "You're almost there!" she said as she kept fighting.

Sissi frantically looked around the tower as she arrived. "Now what?" she asked.

"You have to go inside to deactivate it," Jeremy said.

"How? There's no way in."

"Just touch the wall," Jeremy sighed.

Sissi did so, lightly touching the wall. She screamed as it seemed to suck her inside. "I knew it, I'm dying, just like they did!" she cried. But instead of dying, Sissi appeared inside the calm interior of the tower. Unlike the outside, the inside was perfectly round. and symmetrical. "There's nothing here," Sissi said. She looked around, and then down. "Except a bottomless pit if I happen to walk the wrong way!"

Jeremy snickered. Sissi might have the pink hair and programming, but with her panicking at every different part of Lyoko, she was certainly no Aelita.

"What's so funny?" Sissi asked.

"Nothing's funny," Jeremy lied. "Now step forward to the center, you'll automatically be transferred to where you need to go,"

Sissi slowly stepped forward carefully, not wanting to fall accidentally. As she made it to the round platform, the circles on it started to glow blue, until she finally reached the center. She fretted again as she began to float up, but was calmer once she reached the screen.

"Now, place your hand on the screen," Jeremy instructed. "This is how Aelita deactivates the towers. Since you're now programming to be Aelita, hopefully it'll work the same for you."

"Hopefully, huh? What happens if it knows I'm not Mrs. Einstein?"

"I'm not completely sure," Jeremy said.

Sissi didn't say anything to that. She just tensely put her hand on the screen before she could think of any possibilities. She was relieved when Aelita's name came across, and dropped down to the floor.

After the tower was deactivated, Jeremy devirtualized Yumi and Sissi. "It's getting late. I know you two need to make it back, and I have to double check some things before we go into sector five. But tomorrow-"

"Tomorrow we can go to sector five?" Yumi asked.

"Yes, so be ready then," Jeremy said.

"We will be," Yumi assured.

Sissi wasn't nearly as sure as she went with Yumi to the elevator. "Thank you Sissi, I had I feeling we could count on you," Yumi said.

Sissi smiled and took a hold of Yumi's hand. "I can't refuse a gorgeous girl in need," she said.

"Right... Well, you did a good job," Yumi said quickly.

"You think?" Sissi asked, happy but skeptical. "Jeremy didn't seem to think so."

"He's just used to our team flowing better. We all know what to do automatically since we've all been doing this for so long. But we finished what we needed to today, and that's what matters."

"Right," Sissi said. She put her head on Yumi's shoulder as they walked out of the elevator. She was still anxious about the situation, but glad to be able to spend time with Yumi. Besides, why should she be doubtful of success? With a lovely warrior by her side protecting her, and Jeremy, insane but still ingenious, at the computer leading them, what could go wrong? When she and Yumi parted ways, Sissi walked with her head up, throwing her fears aside.


	5. Perseverance

**Substitute Princess**

**Chapter 5: Perseverance**

Sissi walked inside the classroom in the morning. She couldn't help but notice that some of her classmates were treating her differently, like she was someone with a disease who had to be avoided. But she didn't care much, their miniscule opinions were never very important in the first place. She was frowning now, but it wasn't because of them. She looked at the empty seats of Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita. They'd be returning soon, and their opinions actually were worth something.

It would effect how Yumi treated her, most likely. If Ulrich and Odd thought that her and Yumi's relationship was disgusting and a mistake, Yumi likely would catch that kind of distasteful attitude too. And Ulrich and Odd were likely not to be accepting. So, Sissi frowned as she thought of what she might be able to do when they returned and reacted.

Nicolas and Herb approached her. "Hey Sissi," Nicolas began.

"What is it?" Sissi asked, annoyed to be taken away from her thoughts.

"Is it true that Yumi and Jeremy are going through some mental breakdown?" Herb asked.

"That's what we heard. And that's why Yumi, well, you know," Nicolas said.

"No, I don't know," Sissi played dumb.

"She kissed you," Nicolas said, he and Herb flinching as he did.

"Now you two listen here, Jeremy has always had a screw loose, but Yumi's kissing me has nothing to do with how upset she is about her friends being missing. Yumi and I are an item now," Sissi said. She noticed Nicolas and Herb's disappointed expressions. "Don't look at me that way! It's not as if either of you had a chance with me anyway. So just get used to the fact that I'm with Yumi now." As Sissi finished talking, she noticed that more than just the two boys in front of her had heard her tirade. Oh well, let them listen, let them gossip, it didn't bother Sissi much in this case.

However, Yumi didn't feel the same. Stares and giggles, as well as jokes about her orientation and taste, going for Sissi and all, got on Yumi's every nerve. Which is why she wanted to shoo Sissi away the moment she saw her outside the lunchroom. "Yumi!" Sissi called sweetly. As she walked to Yumi, she immediately held her hand, and began to get close to her, even play with her hair. "So good to see you."

"Sissi, what are you doing?! If you haven't noticed, there's all these rumors going around about us," Yumi whispered.

"About us? Oh, you mean, that we're like this?" Sissi put her two index fingers together. "It's true, isn't it? I told everyone that we were together. They're scandalized right now, but don't worry, they'll get over it."

"Sissi," Yumi said as she quickly pulled away from her. "We are NOT an item. And even if we were, what makes you think that I want EVERYONE to know about it?"

"Hmph. Well, maybe you're well practiced in keeping secrets, but I'm afraid I'm not," Sissi said.

"It's not a secret, since there's nothing going on!" Yumi insisted.

"Whatever you say. Maybe next time you want to keep things under wraps, you won't be so public about them," Sissi said, and walked away from her without another word.

Wonderful, Yumi thought as she sighed. She knew from experience that Sissi's body language said she would be giving her the silent treatment. Is wasn't as if Yumi really disliked Sissi so much anymore, or even that the idea of them being together was horrible in any way. Actually, it had been very nice... It was just being the center of attention, which Yumi noticed Sissi thrived on, was very much not for her.

However, it wasn't so much that Sissi liked the negative attention, she was just so to it. Being outspoken and assertive, she often heard what an idiot she was for her every mistake, and what a bitch she was for nearly anything else she did. Being called a lesbian bitch really wasn't too bad a change for her. Not that she wouldn't just let someone have it if they said it for her face. Just the same, she was able to brush it off, and hold her head high. Why Yumi couldn't do the same, Sissi really didn't understand. She had thought there would be problems with her friends, but it turned out that Yumi valued just any random person's opinion. And that pissed Sissi off.

Just the same, she came to the factory after school. Sissi walked by herself, as wasn't going to give Yumi a chance to say how little she liked her again. When Sissi arrived, only Jeremy was there. "Everyone missed you at school today," Sissi said.

"And you told them?" Jeremy inquired.

"I didn't have to tell them anything. They all think you're having a mental breakdown," Sissi said.

"I see," Jeremy said. On his computer, he noticed an incoming call from Yumi. "Yes Yumi?" he asked as he answered.

"I can't find Sissi," Yumi explained.

"Oh, don't worry, Sissi's right next to me," Jeremy explained.

"Oh," Yumi said, followed by a moment of silence.

"Um, Yumi?"

"I'll be right there," Yumi said.

"Okay, see you soon." Jeremy cut the connection.

"He he, she was worried about me, wasn't she?" Sissi grinned.

"Still as selfish as ever, I see," Jeremy commented.

"Hey!" Sissi protested. "I'm here, aren't I?"

"Yes, and thank you," Jeremy said, turning around to look Sissi in the eye. "I honestly mean that. I know the others will want to thank you as well once we get them back."

Sissi had nothing to say to this sudden positive change in attitude. She only turned away to lean against the wall and waited. Even when she heard Yumi arrive on the elevator, she only took the ladder down to meet her. "Sissi, I-"

"Come on, Jeremy's getting ready to virtualize us," Sissi interrupted. Both girls went into the chambers as Jeremy virtualized them into the forest sector. "Now what?" Sissi unenthusiastically asked.

"Hey, Sissi-" Yumi began.

"What?" Sissi turned to Yumi.

Yumi looked at Sissi, now the near-double of her friend Aelita, and realized it really wasn't the time. "Never mind." What would she tell her with Jeremy listening in, anyway?

"Head to the edge of the sector, so we can go to sector five and get started," Jeremy said.

Yumi took a moment to gather herself, realizing it would be a difficult trip, with only herself to count on and also Sissi to protect. "This way," she directed the other girl when she was ready.

"There are some monsters ahead," Jeremy warned.

"If you can tell us that much, can't you say if there's any way around them?" Sissi asked.

"There isn't, you'll have to just go right on through. Xana's well prepared for us," Jeremy said.

"And nothing I can do except duck and cover," Sissi sulked.

"You know, Aelita could do some things to defend herself," Yumi pointed out.

"Like what? Tell me, I'll try," Sissi said.

"Don't bother," Jeremy interrupted. "It took Aelita great concentration to perform what you're speaking of. I doubt Sissi could do anything at all."

"You don't think I can concentrate?" Sissi whined.

"No time, anyway. Here they come." Yumi noticed, getting on alert.

"But-"

"Hide!" Yumi ordered, shoving Sissi to the side.

Sissi went and hid behind a tree, sure they wouldn't be able to hit her there. She made sure not even a finger was exposed to the side that Yumi was fighting on, and looked to the sky for trouble.

"Good job Yumi, just-" Jeremy paused. "What's going on?"

"You tell us, genius!" Sissi shouted.

"Listen, both of you. Just run to the edge of the sector. You're surrounded, there's no way you can defeat all of them."

"What?" Sissi asked.

"Just run with Yumi away from the bad guys," Jeremy reiterated slowly.

"Ahhh!!" Sissi screamed shrilly as she ran away from the enemies approaching her. She ran past Yumi, who started to follow her.

"Yumi, your life points are already halfway down," Jeremy pointed out.

Yumi just ran, trying not let the thought get to her too much. It didn't seem like they'd make it at all. Yumi stopped running to block a few shots headed towards Sissi with her fan, and then got hit a few more times herself. "Yumi!" Sissi called.

"Just go!" Yumi ordered, fighting more until she was devirtualized.

"Sissi, you can still make it. Sissi?" Jeremy said, but the girl didn't respond.

Sissi felt angry now. How could they do that to her beautiful Yumi? She kept running, following Jeremy's directions until she found herself face-to-face with a round creature. What was it going to do, try and knock her over like a bowling ball pin? Sissi stood, waiting for the silly machine to do something. It let her walk right up to it, without even firing any lasers. "Sissi, you might want to-" Jeremy said.

"Stupid thing," Sissi insulted, kicking the round machine, but it wouldn't budge. She began to walk off where she needed to go, when she found herself hit and devirtualized herself.

Jeremy sighed unhappily in front of the supercomputer. Yumi walked up behind him. "Did she-" Yumi began.

"She's already back," Jeremy said. "And I don't think she'll be wanting to help us so much anymore."

"I feel sick!" Sissi's whining voice rang out as she climbed up the ladder herself.

Jeremy put a hand to his forehead. What a disaster this was continuing to be, he thought.

"Yeah, that happens," Yumi said to Sissi. "You get used to it. Um, well, I've gotten used to it."

"It's not a feeling I ever _want_ to get used to," Sissi commented. She looked over at Jeremy's depressed form. "And what's wrong with you?" she asked loudly towards him. "We're the ones actually going out there, you've got no reason to be upset. Aren't you getting ready to send us in again?"

"You mean you still... Um, you mean, today?" Jeremy stammered.

"Yes _today_, we want to get this done as quickly as possible, don't we Yumi?" Sissi asked, looking towards Yumi.

Yumi smiled. She was getting to know Sissi better and better all the time, and really liked this side of her. Although there were some quirks of Sissi's that Yumi wished she could pass on, the perseverant Sissi was one she loved. Yumi nodded in response to her question.


	6. Defeat

**Title: Substitute Princess**

**Chapter 6: Defeat**

"Try not to drop us into a trap again," Sissi said to Jeremy.

"Uh, right. I've been scanning the various sectors, and for now, the safest one to route to sector five seems to be the mountains."

"Then, we should go there right away, before Xana gets a chance to block us there, too," Yumi said.

"If you're both up to it-"

"Yes!" both Yumi and Sissi said together, quite eagerly.

"All right then. I'll get the virtualization program ready," Jeremy said.

Yumi and Sissi both went to the ladder. "You first, Yumi dear."

"Sissi, I..."

"What is it?" Sissi waited, and then sighed. "If you're going to say something, just spit it out already. Enough with the stalling, you're almost making _me_ nervous."

"Well... Just forget about what's been happening recently, and, just know that, I don't really know _why_, but I really like you," Yumi said uncomfortably.

"And I know exactly why I like you, it's because you're a wonderfully beautiful person, my darling Yumi," Sissi said, then gave Yumi a quick affectionate kiss. "We can talk about my good qualities later, but right now, we have to go."

"Right," Yumi nodded with a smile.

The girls climbed into the scanners, which closed and virtualized them. Sissi looked at herself. "I don't know what Aelita was thinking, with this getup," she commented.

"We don't exactly choose what we look like in Lyoko," Yumi said.

"Right, it's most likely a manifestation of various subconscious elements," Jeremy explained. "Now, can you two get moving? I virtualized you not far from the location you need to be." The girls followed Jeremy's directions, running close to the location.

As they were running, Sissi tripped and fell near the edge. "Be careful," Yumi said, holding her before she could fall.

"I know, I don't want to have to be virtualized _again_," Sissi said.

"Actually, if you fall into the digital sea down there, we aren't really sure what will happen. But, it's nothing good," Yumi explained.

"I thought you said this place was safe!" Sissi shouted, mostly at Jeremy, who she knew was listening.

"Yeah, just stick close to me," Yumi said.

"I hate to tell you this, but Xana's activated a tower in your sector over there," Jeremy said.

"Oh no. Can't we just go to sector five first, and get everyone else, then deactivate the tower?" Yumi asked hopefully.

"We could. But, we really don't know why Xana's activated this tower. Do you really want to be in sector five while Xana sets his plan in motion? Distracting us could have been his idea all along. So, what do you think we should do?"

Yumi sighed unhappily. "Fine, Sissi and I'll go deactivate it. But quickly!"

"I'm activating your vehicle now," Jeremy said.

Yumi and Sissi rode quickly and uninterrupted to the tower. Sissi entered, then deactivated it. "Now, we can finally go to this sector five?" Sissi said when she walked out.

"Not exactly, Xana's activated another tower," Jeremy said.

"Oh, no!" Sissi said, frustrated. "Maybe it's his plan to distract us with these stupid towers so we can never get anyone else back!"

"Let's just go," Yumi said, pulling Sissi back to her vehicle. As they flew, some bees came after them.

"Yumi!" Sissi pointed at the monsters.

Yumi saw the threat. "Here, you drive now, I'll take care of them."

"Me? I don't know how to do any of that!" Sissi protested.

"It's easy. Just steer us and stay on the path!" Yumi pushed Sissi to the front, then fought, swatting out the annoying bees.

Sissi followed directions, finding it actually was pretty simple. "Good job, both of you," Jeremy said, seeing the threat disappearing, and both of them heading on course to the tower. "The tower's up ahead," he informed.

Sissi, looking ahead as Yumi eradicated the digital insects, didn't see a tower at all. "Yumi!" she fretted.

"You're almost there, don't worry, Sissi," Jeremy assured.

"Yumi, how do I stop?"

"You-" Yumi began, but then saw the black hole ahead of them. She took the controls herself, and stopped them suddenly, causing them to fly off. "Jeremy, it's not a tower, here! This must be what got everyone else."

Jeremy then began shouting directions, but Yumi and Sissi only saw the black hole as they tried to run away. Yumi's vehicle disappeared inside. Yumi gasped as she saw her foot in the black hole now, fading in and out. "No, Yumi, hurry up!" Sissi shouted, pulling her.

Yumi took out her fan, and threw it once more before she disappeared. It hit Sissi dead on, and she devirtualized.

Back in the factory, Sissi crawled out of the chamber, feeling dizzy. "Yumi?" she called. Looking inside the other chamber, she found no one. She quickly ran to supercomputer. "All right you toad, where's Yumi?!" she demanded, shaking Jeremy so he'd look away from the computer.

"She's not down there, with you?" Jeremy asked.

"No!"

"Then... She's gone too."


	7. Nowhere Land

_Note: This is the last chapter, but I will have a stand alone follow up in the same fanfiction universe. _

**Title: Substitute Princess**

**Chapter 7: Nowhere Land**

"Gone?! She's can't be gone! Too?! You said everyone else wasn't gone! You said we were going to rescue them!" Sissi shouted, completely hysterical.

"Yumi's fate is the same as the others' was," Jeremy rephrased his previous statement.

"Oh, and you're just fine with that, are you?" Sissi said. Jeremy didn't answer. He just began rummaging around in his backpack. "You're an awful person. I'm starting to think you aren't crazy at all, just faking crazy, so you can get innocent people to die for your sick experiments," Sissi said to his turned back.

Jeremy pulled Aelita's CD out of his backpack, then walked around and placed it in a dusty stereo in the corner. Music began to play all around the darkened room. Sissi just stared silently as Jeremy sat back down, looking deep in thought.

"Never mind. You're really insane," Sissi said. "And I'm going to tell everyone about it. I'm going to tell my father, I'm going to tell the police, and I'm going to have you locked up in a padded room for the rest of your miserable life."

"Go ahead, do what you want," Jeremy said calmly. He listened to the pleasant music that Aelita had composed just for him, so he could feel close to her, even when she was far away. No, he couldn't give up. He had to be able to do something to get them back. He tried to think of a way to help. He heard Sissi continue to talk about what was going to happen to him once she turned him in. Oh well, if she actually came back with the police and the emergency take away service, he'd just run a return to the past.

"Are you even listening to me, or have you really suffered a complete mental breakdown?!" Sissi demanded.

"I hear you," Jeremy said.

"Then why aren't you saying anything?!"

"I don't have anything to say. You know I've failed again, and I'm not sure how to fix things. You can leave now, there's nothing left for you to do here."

"I know exactly what I'm going to do! I'm going to call the police! And I'm-"

"Going have me hauled off to an asylum, I know." Jeremy interrupted.

"That's right. And you'll be sorry for everything you've done when you're being fitted for your first straight jacket. But first, first I'm going to get back my Yumi, and everyone else, too."

"I told you already, I can't get them back," Jeremy said hopelessly.

"Did I say you were going to get them back? No! You're obviously much too useless to do anything. I said I was going to."

"And how do you plan to do that?" Jeremy asked condescendingly.

"I don't have a plan, not yet," Sissi admitted.

"With your limited knowledge of Lyoko, it would be a wonder if you could survive by yourself, let alone actually accomplish anything," Jeremy pointed out.

"Jeremy dear, turn around and look at me," Sissi said in a sickly sweet voice. One Jeremy did slightly turn his head, she slapped him. "I won't let my girlfriend Yumi rot in some virtual prison because you're too pig-headed to accept my help!"

Jeremy held his face, fuming at Sissi. Then he suddenly started to laugh.

"And what's so funny?" Sissi said, also getting angry. "You and the voices in your head want to let me in on the joke?"

"Oh, so that's what's been your intention all this time. Yumi, your girlfriend. Sure, you can wish she was. It'll never happen."

"It's none of your business, but it already has!" Sissi insisted. "Now can you stop obsessing over things like that?"

"Fine, fine," Jeremy said. He had needed that laugh.

"Now, I suppose you plugged something into your brain to automatically know all about this Lyoko place?" Sissi asked.

"I don't know all about it, and what I do know I discovered through experience,"

"Oh, so even the great Jeremy doesn't know everything automatically. Now, maybe you can tell me a few things instead of implying that I'm far too stupid to be anything other than an empty-headed Aelita puppet. Did you even consider that I might have something to tell you?"

"Like what?" Jeremy asked.

"Well, you might want to know that Yumi was possessed by something when she stepped into that dark place that took her away," Sissi said.

"Oh really? Why do you think that?"

"Maybe because she attacked me, her sweetheart and one and only," Sissi said.

Jeremy smirked. "I thought we were going to stop with that."

"Well, she really does have no reason to attack me!" Sissi pointed out.

"She wasn't attacking you, she was _saving_ you. Since you were devirtualized, you couldn't be, well, where she is now," Jeremy said.

"Oh, how romantic. Yumi protecting me to the very end," Sissi said dreamily.

"You're starting with that topic again," Jeremy pointed out.

"Oh, just grow up!" Sissi said. "Now, I'm going have to to be the one to save her from her fate," she began with her cheerful fantasizing again.

"I already told you, there's nothing you can do," Jeremy said.

"You're so pessimistic. Now, why don't you tell me what exactly it is that your darling Aelita can do to protect herself over there?"

"Aelita can create matter in Lyoko. Obviously not real matter, but since she hold the keys to Lyoko, sometimes she can modify it."

"Modifying it as in modifying it to spit out who's been captured?"

"Yes, I was hoping to do something like that in sector five."

"Can't you do it in any sector?"

"No. It's complicated to explain. But what I want to accomplish can only be done in sector five."

"Why can't you just virtualize us right into sector five? Did you ever think of that?"

Jeremy gave an exasperated sigh. "It's currently not possible for you to be virtualized directly into sector five,"

"Why not?"

"Sissi, it's complicated to explain."

"And what sector is everyone in?" Sissi asked.

"They aren't in any sector."

"They aren't in Lyoko, and they aren't here. So they are dead? Have you been wasting our time with some insane raise the dead scheme?!"

"No. The simplest way to explain it is... Well, they aren't really anywhere right now, but they still exist somewhere in space."

"Really?" Sissi said. It didn't make any sense at all, but she figured that Jeremy would be smart enough to know how stupid he had sounded. "Well, then, I guess that's all we have to say to each other. Start the virtualization program. I'm headed to nowhere to save my heroic girlfriend."

"What?" Jeremy raised an eyebrow.

"You heard me, get to it with your typing and all that stuff," Sissi said.

"No, you aren't going back there," Jeremy said.

"I just told you I was."

"Sissi, I refuse to send you back to Lyoko," Jeremy said, pushing up his glasses and looking Sissi directly in the eyes.

"Oh, why? Because you like me so much? Because it's far too dangerous a place, you couldn't possibly send anyone there, especially not your best friends? Stop it now with your heroic nonsense and fake morality, just do what you're actually good at," Sissi ordered.

"Fine, there is another activated tower," Jeremy said.

"You and your towers, you should stop thinking about them, and start thinking about actual people instead," Sissi sighed.

"Maybe if you remembered what Xana could do once he activated these towers, you wouldn't be so dismissive of them. However, there is a chance that it's another trap," Jeremy said.

"Yes, I do remember how good you are at leading us into those," Sissi considered. "So, lead away."

"Give me a moment," Jeremy said, considering a possible plan.

"Fine, I'll be waiting to be virtualized," Sissi said. She went down into the virtualization chamber, just to wait for Jeremy to finally decide what to do with her. Inside, she wondered what she was doing. She wasn't a tough warrior like Yumi, or smart like Jeremy, what could she actually do? She became angry then. Why did there have to be a stupid battle out of a science fiction novel between her and Yumi? Why couldn't they just be together, and have fun, without any of this? Sissi pictured herself snatching Yumi away from all of this before it even began, and just being with her without any complications. No matter what, she was going to be with Yumi anyway. No stupid computer could get between Sissi Delmas and what was her's.

The door closed and the virtualization program started. As Sissi felt herself be virtualized, all her doubt disappeared, replaced by a very focused determination. When she fell back down into the mountains sector, she wasn't even concerned as she saw herself begin to fade in and out.

Jeremy noticed something wrong from his point of view. Aelita, who Sissi was virtualized as, kept going in and out of the screen. "Um, Sissi, what's going on over there? Is anything wrong?"

"You tell me," Sissi said calmly. _Nothing's going wrong,_ she thought as she stared at her fizzling hand. She honestly believed nothing was wrong, and that she was going to save Yumi somehow. Eventually it stopped, and left her hand solid again. "Everything's fine now," she relayed back to Jeremy.

"Oh, no," Jeremy said.

"What is it?" Sissi asked.

"The virtualization program, the one that made you become Aelita, it's malfunctioned."

Sissi looked down at her outfit, it was now a deep pink dress. She tossed her hair, it was also back to normal; long, black, and beautiful. Sissi was quite pleased. "Well, you and I would never work out anyway," she told Jeremy.

"This isn't a time to be joking, Sissi. I'll work on finding out what's gone wrong. You should-"

"Don't tell me what I should do," Sissi said. "Now where's this tower you've been rambling about?" she asked.

"That's just the thing, Sissi, you can't deactivate it now," Jeremy said.

"I'm not interested in that," Sissi said.

Jeremy sighed. He gave Sissi some quick directions, figuring the worst that could happen would be that she become devirtualized by being attacked by monsters guarding it. Of course it also could be the same trap again... In which case, she'd hopefully be able to see it from a distance and know to run away, Jeremy thought.

Sissi did indeed see it was the trap the captured her sweetheart from a distance. She looked at it, remembering that this Lyoko, a virtual world, was not like a real world at all. She could defeat a machine easily. Sissi touched her hair. Her hair was the same style as usual, only instead of being held back by a headband, there was a pink ribbon. Sissi took it off. "I wonder what it's like in nowhere," she mused.

"Sissi? Did you say something?" Jeremy asked.

Sissi pulled the ribbon, and it grew longer, like unrolling a spool. She smiled, then spun it around a rock formation nearby. Two times, three times, four times, another few ought to do it. It's not as if she were limited like in reality. After making sure it was secure, she wrapped the other end around her hand, and started to run toward the black hole. "I'm going to find them, just to let you know," she said to Jeremy.

"Sissi? What do you mean? What do you see over there?" Jeremy asked. He noticed Sissi now disappeared from the screen. "Oh, no," he shook his head.

Sissi dove into the virtual black hole. Now inside, she was still aware of herself, but could see nothing. She also couldn't hear, or even feel anything, other than the ribbon around one of her hands. She tried to shout for Yumi, but couldn't hear herself do so.

Yumi was also aware of herself inside the vacuum. She had no way of telling how long she had been there, as she could both see and hear nothing. But it seemed to have been a long while. Then Yumi suddenly saw a pink beam of light, and she rushed toward it. Closer, she saw Sissi's hand, wrapped around the ribbon. She hugged Sissi, or at least thought she did.

Sissi also thought she could feel a presence around her, although she wasn't sure if she was just hoping for it or not. Either way, she should get out of there while she still could.

* * *

"What happened?" Odd asked as he found himself in the mountain sector. He look around and saw Ulrich, looking as confused as him, and also Aelita, looking pleased.

"I was able to find our way out, thanks to this," she said, pointing to the ribbon, wrapped around the mountainous structure, and leading into the black hole.

"What is that?" Ulrich asked.

"Guys? You're there?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah, you mind letting us in on what happened?" Ulrich asked.

"You've been gone for days, you know! But, wait, do you see any sign of Yumi or Sissi anywhere?" Jeremy asked.

"I must be imaging things, I thought I asked us if we saw Sissi around here," Odd said to the other two. Ulrich shrugged.

The ribbon around the mountains disappeared, and in front of it, was Sissi, holding her original-sized hair ribbon, and also Yumi in her arms. "We're back," Sissi said happily. "And you? Are you all right, my darling?" she said to Yumi.

"I think so," Yumi said, allowing Sissi to help her stand up.

"Yumi!" the other three said happily.

"And... who's that?" Odd wondered, seeing the other tall dark-haired girl. He came up closer, and saw it was indeed, "Sissi?!" Odd exclaimed.

"It was a desperate situation. We had to seek outside help," Jeremy quickly explained.

"Oh, stop acting like I'm your tragedy!" Sissi said crossly.

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then Aelita started to laugh, and the others decided to join in. "You helped us, right? Thanks, Sissi," Ulrich said. Sissi look around. Aelita smiled at her, and even Odd nodded, agreeing with Ulrich's

* * *

Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita, paired with Jeremy, walked around campus together, receiving well wishes from everyone. Jeremy had run a return to the past program to set back the damage one day at least, but they had still been gone for quite a while. Yumi and Sissi ran up to greet them. "Ew, why do you look, and smell like that?" Sissi said, holding her nose and waving her hand in front of her face.

"Because we've been stuck in a drainage ditch for days," Ulrich explained.

"Yeah, it really takes a toll," Odd added.

"Luckily, Jeremy found us and rescued us," Aelita said, looking happily over at Jeremy.

"Is the that best thing you could think of? Jeremy rescuing you?" Sissi asked. She continued to joke with the others.

"Aelita, listen," Jeremy pulled Aelita to the side as the others continued to talk. "I'm sorry, I should have discussed things more with you before deciding on my own,"

"Well, I know how you feel, we've just discovered you never know what could happen," Aelita said.

"Yes, when you were gone, I just hated having left it that way. I shouldn't have-"

"It's over now, Jeremy. I took my feelings out on you. There isn't a home I can go to right now, and so I just got angry with you because of it."

"I should have thought of that-" Jeremy said.

"Even you can't think of everything," Aelita pointed out.

"What's going on?" Sissi pushed into their private conversation. "Going to give your ditch searching hero a kiss?" she teased Aelita. Both Jeremy and Aelita blushed, and looked away from each other. "Well, I'm not nearly as shy," she said, pulling Yumi's close and quickly kissing her. "Thank you for saving me, Yumi. Now where's the kiss for the real rescuer of everyone?" she asked.

"Um..." Ulrich said uncomfortably, thinking Sissi was indirectly requesting him. Both he and Sissi were surprised when Yumi pulled Sissi close, giving her a long, passionate kiss.

Sissi was happy, to be kissed of course, but mostly for another reason. The fact she would show such affection in front of her friends meant that she was no longer ashamed of them. It was a nice start, she thought. She linked arms with Yumi, to walk together to school.


End file.
